1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to food products and more particularly to a ground meat analog derived from sprouted whole grains, and to a process for producing said ground meat analog.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many, if not most consumers of ground meat products would prefer a ground meat, for example hamburger, with no cholesterol, few calories, and which is free from chemical additives, artificial preservatives, hormones, and antibiotics normally found in such meat products. Furthermore, with the world population rapidly rising, it is becoming increasingly difficult to produce high quality animal protein in sufficient quantities and at affordable prices to meet demand.
Heretofore, numerous food products have been produced from tissual or fibrous vegetable proteins to address these problems and have been sold as meat extenders or meat analogs, which, to varying degrees resemble the taste and appearance of various ground meats, as well as beef, pork, fowl, chicken, and fish. However, the development of a satisfactory ground meat analog resembling ground meat, in particular groundround or hamburger, has remained elusive. The primary reason for this is due to the difficulty in producing a ground meat analog that is flavorful, nutritious, and similar to ground meat in appearance, texture, and taste.
One approach has been the development of meat extenders from various vegetables which are added to the natural meat to increase the quantity of the meat without substantially modifying the appearance, taste, texture, or nutritional value of the meat. The principal plant tissue employed for prior art research has been derived from soybeans. Soybeans have been modified by various processes to spin and extrude the soy protein into meat-like products. These soybean based extenders have proved unsatisfactory because of their strong "bean" flavor, amino acid imbalance, and undesirable flatus component.
Another type of meat extender has been derived from moisture-cooking wheat kernels and adding the dried product into various natural meats. Unfortunately, these types of meat analogs are limited in their application as a meat substitute by their taste, texture, appearance, and by the limited amount that can be added to the natural meat without seriously compromising the taste and texture of the final product.
A suitable ground meat analog should be derived from a relatively inexpensive source by means of an easily practiced process. The ground meat analog should be modified to resemble the appearance, taste, texture, and nutritional value of ground meat, in particular, groundround or hamburger which is used in a wide variety of foods and to which this invention is directed. The ground meat analog should be capable of being mixed with ground meats as a meat extender and also be sufficiently palatable for human consumption alone without mixing it with any meat protein sources.
The present invention provides a novel process utilizing whole grains which are traditionally processed in one of three ways; refining, moisture-cooking, or grinding into a flour. The sprouted grain ground meat analog of this invention is not produced by any of these methods. The resulting product is quite different in taste, texture, and appearance from meat extenders or meat analogs produced by the aforementioned processes.